USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > Biographical history of Pottawattamie County, Iowa > Part 75
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In 1887 Ilenry came to Council Bluffs and took charge of the Conncil Bluffs Lum- ber Company, which position he still main- tains. Renfrew is vice-president and man- ager of the Star Union Lumber Company at Omaha, with a capital of $50,000. He is therefore one of the most extensive lumber dealers in this part of the West.
Mr. Henry Stevenson was married at Long Island, Kansas, July 15, 1885, to Miss Minerva Webb, of Orleans, Nebraska, but a native of Michigan, born in April, 1856, a daugliter of George A. and - - (Nichol) Webb, and of English and Scotch origin. Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson have two children,
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Leal and Renfrew N. Mr. Stevenson affili- ates with the Republican party. Is a mem- ber of St. Andrew's Society at Council Bluffs, and secretary of the same; also a member of the Board of Trade, and of the Retail Merchants' Association. He is presi- dent of the Board of the lowa Savings and Loan Association of Des Moines. Mrs. Stevenson is a member of the First Baptist .Church.
HARLES A. ALTMANNSPERGER, one of the prominent business men of Iowa, and a Council Bluff's City Coun- eilman, was born in the town of Burgehaun, Province of Kurhessen, Germany, July 12, 1858, the son of Andreas Altmannsperger, who was a lawyer of Marburg, Germany. He was elected a Judge of his native province, and died at the age of fifty-one years.
Charles Altmannsperger received an exeel- lent edneation at the Gymnasium of Fulda, Germany, where he obtained a knowledge of the English language, and after completing his education he entered the business house where he served three years. During this time he took a commercial course, and then served three years as a elerk in Switzerland. In 1880 he came to America, and in 1881 to Avoca, where he entered the employment of Seifest & Wiese, an extensive business firm of that place. After remaining with them a few months, he came to Minden and took charge of their business here, which is prin- eipally lumber and coal, and since that time he has attended to their work with satisfaction to his firm and credit to himself. Mr. Alt- mannsperger takes an interest in thoroughbred English mastiffs, being a lover of the traits and character exhibited by that noble breed of dogs, and, like many men, see many traits
which are worthy of being cultivated and improved. He now has a large kennel, num- bering at times as many as thirty thorough- bred English mastiffs. Ashumund, Suwanee, American Kennel Club, 16,006; Vesta, 6,854; Queen Victoria, 16,008 are the lead- ers from which he breeds. His dog Ben Harrison, 2d, 16,010, is a splendid animal, and is one of the best specimens of the Eng- lish mastiff now living. Ile is now only twenty months old, and weighs 185 pounds. When full grown he will weigh over 200 pounds. Chancellor Bi-marck, 14,894, took the first prize at Denver, Colorado, in De- eember, 1889, and the silver prize medal at Chicago. There were American Kennel Club shows at New York.
Mr. Altmannsperger's dogs are registered in their record book, where are kept the pedi- grees of pure-bred dogs with as much eare and fidelity as the records of thoroughbred trotting-horses are kept. Chancellor Bis- marck is valned by him at not less than $1,000. Mr. Altmannsperger is a careful breeder of the English mastiff, and his dogs are being shipped to all parts of the country. His noble race of dogs have descended from old English stock, made famous by the pens of the great English writers. Sir Walter Scott described in " Woodstock " a magnifi- cent specimen of this race as the famous guardian of Woodstock Hall. They are noted for their fidelity as watch-dogs and as gnards for ladies. The trait strongly marked, which makes them of great value, is that they guard or keep their prisoners withont a savage at- taek unless resisted. They prevent their es- cape by holding rather than brutality. In size they are very massive, with immense heids, and are a light fawn in color with black muz- zles and ears. They stand firmly on well shaped legs, and have a bright, intelligent eye.
Socially Mr. Altmanusperger is a promi-
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nent Mason, being a member of the bine lodge, Neola Chapter of Avoca, and Scottish Rite, Council Bluffs. He has taken fourteen degrees in Masonry. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias of Neola. He has the confidence of the people of Minden, and is now serving as To vnship Clerk, which of- fiee he has held six years. He has taken an active interest in good schools, having been Treasurer of the School Board for five years, and has lately been elected, as before stated, to the first Town Council of Minden. In 1881 Mr. Altmannsperger married Eliza Bohren, a native of Switzerland, and they have three girls: Caroline, Eliza and Matilda. Mr. Altmannsperger is a reliable citizen, owning his residence and other own property, and also a farm in this township. He is a young man, and has just entered upon his career of usefulness. He is an active and reliable business man, possessing the confidence of his firm and the respeet of the community in which he lives, and he is not only a eredit to the sturdy German race from which he sprang, but a direct benetit to the county in which he has settled. IIe is a courteous host, having a delightful home, in which he takes great pleasure in entertaining his friends, and in which he dispenses a liberal hospitality.
J. BARTON, proprietor of the St. Joe Livery, Feed and Sale Stable, 706 South Main street, Council Bluffs, carries a stock of some $8,000 or $9,000, and also buys and sells horses on commis- sion. He took charge of the barn in July, 1888, and is doing a good business. He was born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1856, the son of Frederick and Mary , (Tomlinson) Barton, of English parentage. He was
reared to farm life in his native country, and in 1872 his parents emigrated to America, loeating at Conneil Bluffs, where they have since resided, except that the father died in 1876. In 1878 onr present subjeet com- menced to take care of himself by operating his farm south of Council Bluffs for one year. Afterward he engaged in various pur- snits until 1887-'88, when he engaged in buying and selling hay and in threshing, which he followed until he took his present place. Ile has a good farm in South Da- kota, and also owns an interest in a farm of eighty aeres in Lewis Township. Politically Mr. Barton is a Democrat, taking an active interest in the publie welfare.
He was married September 8, 1889, to Miss Lillie Pardan, a native of Conneil Bluffs, who was born in 1870, and they have an infant daughter.
ESLEY SNYDER, one of the old soldier citizens of Walnut, who is Commander of the John A. Dix Post, No. 408, was born on a farm near Huntington County, Pennsylvania, February 27, 1847, the son of John Snyder, who was born in the same place, and was of German descent. He married Sarah Lynn, daughter of John Lynn, of Pennsylvania, and they were the parents of nine children who lived to maturity, namely: Jane, Susan, Elizabeth, Martha, Rachel, Lueinda, Wesley, Jonathan and Hugh. The Snyders were old settlers of Pennsylvania, and John Snyder had two un- eles in the war of the Revolution. Mr. Snyder was a comfortable farmer, and in 1865 emigrated to Iowa, settling on a farm in Johnson County, where he lived until his death in 1876. He was a member of the
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Methodist Episcopal Church, and an honor- able and upright citizen.
August 29, 1864, at the age of sixteen years, Wesley Snyder enlisted in Company K, Two Hundred and Second Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served until the close of the war. He served along the Orange and Alexandria Railroad in Virginia, and on his return home he came with his father to Iowa, and has since been a citizen of this State. In 1879 he left farm work, which he had followed until this time, and worked in the elevator as engineer for two years in Shelby, Iowa, and then in Minden two years. In 1884 he came to Walnut, where he has since ran the elevator for Davenport & Co. In 1899 he was appointed Commander of the John A. Dix Post, G. A. R., of Avoca for one year. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Church, of which is a Trustee and Steward. He is a well known in Avoca as a conscientious and upright citizen.
AMES MURRAY, one of the old soldier citizens of Pottawattamie County, was born in the city of Dublin, Ireland, March 1, 1833, a son of James Murray. who was a steward of the estate of William Howe, which was called Allendale. The father was a Catholic religiously, and died in Ireland in 1861. His wife's maiden name was Jane Flynn, and they were the parents of six chil- dren, who lived to maturity: Dennis, Patrick, Elizabeth, Catherine, James and Eliza. Mr. Murray was an active and industrious man, and remained with Mr. Howe for over forty years, being implicitly trusted,-in other words, he was an honest man, who, as Pope, says, " is the noblest work of God." Mr.
William Howe was a public notary and stock- broker in Dublin, and a man of wealth.
At the age of seventeen years James Mur- ray, our subject, came to America, arriving in New York city in September, 1849. IIe went to Middletown, that State, and worked in a nursery, and the next spring went to Paterson, New Jersey, where he remained until 1854, when he came to Davenport, Iowa, and engaged in work on the Rock Is- land Railroad. He next removed to Iowa City, and worked in a commission house un- til April 28, 1861, when he enlisted in Com- pany B, First Iowa Regiment Volunteer In- fantry, under Captain Mahan. Thus he num- bers among the brave men who were the first to volunteer in defense of the Union, and to set the example which was followed by thou- sands of men who were willing to risk their lives that their country might be saved, and become one of the greatest nations on earth. Mr. Murray went with his regiment to Mis- souri, and was in service against the guerrillas who infested the State, and was in several skirmishes with them. This service was very severe, and the guerrillas or "bush- whackers" would be in ambush in the heavy oak scrubs and fire upon the troops. At Mc- Culloughtown a severe skirmish was fought, and August 10, 1861, at twenty minutes past two o'clock A. M., the first rifle shot was fired by the pickets at the famous battle of Wilson Creek, where the noted General Lyon fell; he was shot at fifteen minutes pist 12 o'clock. Mr. Murray saw him ride out in front of the First Iowa Regiment on a dapple- gray horse, where he fell instantly, pierced with bullets. He was but a few rods from Mr. Murray when he fell, and within two minutes onr subject was shot through the wrist, shattering the small bones. His regi- ment retreated directly after the death of General Lyon to Springfield, Missouri, in
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good order, which place they reached at 7 o'clock same day. Mr. Murray received no medical attendance, and the next night slept on the ground; and the next day the regi- ment, with the remainder of the army, re- treated to Raleigh, Missouri, 150 miles, and thence by rail to St. Louis, where our subject received medical attendance, his arm being badly swollen. He was not in a hospital. His time having expired he was honorably discharged at St. Louis, and returned to Iowa City, but was disabled one year from work on account of his wound.
He remained in the warehouse of the Rock Island Railroad until 1871, when he bought his present farm, then consisting of 120 acres of wild prairie. In 1876 he came to live on this land, which he has since improved and inade a comfortable home. He is well known as a faithful and honest citizen, and his course through life, either in the employ of others or working for himself, has been straightforward and manly. Politically he is a Republican, and religionsly a devoted Catholic. He is a member of the G. A. R., John A. Dix Post, of Walnut, Iowa.
He was married, in 1862, at Iowa City, to Mary Quinn, who was born in the State of Maine of Irish parentage. To Mr. and Mrs. Murray have been born seven children: Eliza J., James, William, Ellen, Catherine, John and Annie. Mrs. Murray's father, Johnson Quinn, was born in Ireland, and settled in Elkhart County, Indiana, on a farm. He lived to the age of eighty-three, and was a member of the Methodist Church. His first wife, Sarah Shelleday, was born in Ireland, and died at the age of thirty-six years. They liad six children: Eliza, Williamn, Samuel, John, Mary and Robert. Mr. Quinn was again married, this time to Eliza Spencer, and they had two children: Daniel and Sarah. Mr. Murray is a pioneer of the township,
having made his farm from a wild prairie by hard work and industry, assisted by his faith- ful wife. He stands deservedly high as a good, intelligent American citizen. Having shed his blood on the field of battle in defense of American principles, he has a great love for his country, and we have no more loyal men than those who fought for our flag.
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ILLIAM B. CUPPY .- This truly Western gentleman was born in the great State of Iowa when it was yet a Territory, and came to Pottawattamie Coun- ty before there were any settlers, except ou the old stage ronte. The Sioux Indians were then eamped in Levins' Grove, near where our subject now lives. William Cuppy, the great-grandfather of our subject, came from Spain, but was of Irish and French descent. He was the founder of the family name in Ameriea, which was changed from Copps to Cuppy. Adam Cuppy, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Shelby County, Kentucky. He served in the war of 1812, and was present at Hull's surrender at Detroit. He went to Illinois when a young man, and there married Christiana Shaffer, daughter of John Shaffer, a soldier of the war of 1812. He was a farmer of Cass County, Illinois. Soon after marriage, in 1837, Mr. Cuppy came to Iowa, and stopped at Burlington during the fall and winter following. Here the subject of this sketch was born, and when but twenty- four hours old was the hero of an Indian outbreak. Some men had brought ten gal- lons of whisky across the Mississippi River in a canoe and sold it to the Indians. They became very wild and commenced burning the honses of the whites, and drove them to the Indian agent's headquarters for shelter. Mrs. Cuppy was lying in a slab shanty with
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her young child, and the Indians set fire to it; but the squaws were friendly to her, and rushed in and carried her out on her bed. The Indians, taking up the child to kill it, discovered it was a boy, and exclaimed: "It is a buek; don't kill it;" and so the boy was left to tell the story to another generation.
Soon after this his father moved to Ot- tomwa, Iowa, and there served the Govern- inent as Indian Agent five years. The Sacs, Foxes and lowas were under his ageney, and here yonng William became familiar with Indian life. In 1850 Mr. Adam Cuppy moved to Mississippi County, remaining one year, and in 1851 went to Shelby County, where he lived until 1865. That county was organized at his house, the settlers coming together for a shooting match, and the poorest shots were obliged to take the offices, as no one desired them-quite a contrast to the present day. The first case was tried at Shelbyville by Judge Riddle, under the trees, the jury retiring to a hollow in the grove to deliberate. One of the lawyers who tried the case, "Jim" Brettor, procured a two-gallon jug of whisky, and treated the jury until some of them could not answer to the call of the sheriff. Mr. Cuppy was the father of seven children: Mary C., Emeline, William B., Luey J., Charles, Grenville M. and Emily. Mr. and Mrs. Cuppy were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The father was a fine specimen of a frontiersman and a West- ern pioneer; he was six feet in height, weighed 200 pounds, and was of robust health and character, and became accustomed to all the vicissitudes and trials of a pioneer life in the great West. He was a noted hunter of that period, and became a substantial farmer, owning 600 acres of land at Cuppy's Grove. His hospitality was of the true Kentucky type, and he was never known to charge a man a dime who sought shelter or food at
his house. In the winter of 1856-'57. which is recorded as the winter of great storms, several families took shelter under his roof and shared his hospitality, as their provisions were exhausted and the weather too severe for them to get to any town for supplies, and they remained with him until spring.
William B., the son of the above and the subject of this sketch, was born in 1838, and as there were no schools in Iowa at that early day, he received but a limited education, ex- cept what he acquired by observation and practical experience. But having a quick and ready mind he became a well informed man, and in the rough school of the Iowa pioneer he learned manliness and stability of character, which has enabled him to turn his attention to any matter which he needed to carry through and succeed. He was married at the age of twenty-one years, to Susan A. Long, danghter of James M. and Sophia (Deer) Long. The father was an old and prominent resident of Harlan, Iowa, and both families were of old American pioneer stock, from Indiana, and originally from Kentucky. They were the parents of five children : Susannah, Sarah G., Mary F., Mahala J. and Eddie W.
After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cuppy re- sided on the old homestead at Cuppy's Grove for ten years, and in 1870 came to their present farm of nearly 1,000 acres, 750 being - in one body. In politics Mr. Cuppy is a stanch Democrat and free-trader, and several times has made speeches in defense of his opinions, in which, with his vigorous nse of the old-fashioned, pioneer English, he freely and pointedly expreeses his views. When young, like his father before him, he was a great hunter, and among these peerless hunt- ers, the Indians, learned all their skillful tactics with shot-gun and rifle. The country was then full of game, elk and deer abound-
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OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
ing, andl in the early settlements the buffalo were not driven to the prairies of Kansas by the inroads of the settlers. The face of the country was undulating and covered with grass, and in the spring was a mass of beau- tiful and many-colored flowers, and Mr. Cappy describes it as being one of the love- liest sights the eye of man ever rested upon. The old pioneers of Iowa were noted for their kindness and hospitality, and also for their striet honesty. The neighbors within a radins of thirty and fifty miles visited each other and rendered mutual aid and encouragement. Their latch-string was always out. Mr. Cuppy is now a man of fifty-three years of age, but his eye is still undimmed with age, and he is an erect and well-built man, with an easy and polite manner. His hair is tinged with silver, but many years of an honorable and nseful life are before him. IIe is one of the deservedly popular men of Pottawattamie County, known far and wide for his genial manner, kind heart and large hospitality.
P. ELLIS, druggist at 556 Broad- way, Council Bluffs, was born at Elkhart, Indiana, March 27, 1856, a son of Joel and Emeline (Bailey) Ellis. In his father's family were Jacob, William, Charles, M. P., Fred, Joel, Sophia and Clara, the two latter of whom are deceased. Joel Ellis, the senior, was born in Chautauqua County, New York, February 14, 1818, of Scotch ancestry, who emigrated in early days to America, settling on the Hudson River, where their descendants resided for many generations and served their country both in the Revolutionary war and in the war of 1812. In 1830 the senior Ellis emigrated with his parents to Elkhart, Indiana, in cov- ered wagons, and became a thoroughgoing
citizen of that State. The gran lather of Mr. M. P. Ellls opened a hotel known as the " Three- Mile-Plain Tavern," named with reference to its locality. Many thrilling incidents were connected with their pio- necr life there among the red savages and wild beasts of the forest; being before the days of civil law, and criminals were punished by lynch measures. The famous Black Hawk war occurring while they were resident there, the Indians were particu- larly bold and insolent, and one or two serious frights seized the people. Mr. Ellis, the grandfather, was a Whig in his political views, a member of the Congregational Church, and died at the age of eighty-four years, leaving an aged companion, who died in 1874, and was buried by his side at Elkhart.
Joel Ellis remained at home with his par- ents to the age of twenty-one years, making the best of liis meager educational advantages. Naturally possessing good business qualifica- tions, he soon advanced to the front among business men. He built three large ware- houses on the banks of the St. Joseph River at the mouth of the Elkhart, and established and operated a barge or flat-boat line for the transportation of goods to Lake Michigan, practically enjoying a monopoly until the building of the Michigan Southern & North- ern Indiana Railroad, now the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. He accumulafed a for- tune, sold out his business and purchased a section of land (640 acres) and commenced farming on a large scale and in a scientific manner. In 1868 he sold his farm, moved to the village of Elkhart and engaged in the rearing of fine horses. He bred the horse Edward, which was afterward sold to Worth of New York, who drove him in harness with Dick Swiveler. They made the extraordi- nary low record of 2:12. Mr. Ellis was a
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strong Abolitionist during the days of slavery, being a conductor on the underground rail- way. He died at his home in Elkhart, July 23, 1890, as the remote result of la grippe.
The mother of Mr. M. P. Ellis was born in Erie County, Pennsylvania, now the only surviving child of Cyrus and Catherine (Hol- comb) Bailey. Her parents died when she was abont sixteen years of age, and a year afterward she married. She is still living on the old homestead, a zealous and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mr. Ellis, the subject of this sketch, at the age of seventeen years entered the employ of Hill & Kelly, druggists at Elkhart, and by strict attention to business he became pro- ficient. In 1882 he went to Fairbnry, Ne- braska, where he entered the employ of Hinkle, Carr & Co., druggists. By the ob- servance of rigid economy he managed to save means enough to buy a piece of land in Jefferson County, Nebraska, which increased rapidly in valne, and finally he sold it. He invested the proceeds in commercial paper, which also proved a profitable venture. Hinkle, Carr & Co. sold ont, and Mr. Ellis, in looking for a place to establish a store, came to Council Bluffs and was offered a position by the Foster Brothers, wholesale and retail druggists. Accepting the place, he remained with them until the winter of 1887, when he formed a partnership with J. II. Camp, under the firm name of Camp & Ellis, 556 Broadway. In September, 1889, lie bought out his partner and since then has continued in the business alone. Mr. Ellis is an example of what a young man may ac- complish by strict attention to business and adhering to the principles of honesty and in- tegrity. Step by step he has ascended the rounds of the ladder, and though yonng in years he ranks among the leading business inen of the city. In politics he is Democratic.
September 10. 1889, he married Mrs. Alice Wilson, of Council Bluffs, and they have one child. Mrs. Ellis' parents were W. H. and Matilda (Thompson) Murlin, who had six children: Elvira, Jaines, Alice (born January 11, 1855), Allie G., Edgar E. and Herbie; all of them are now deceased excepting Mrs. Ellis and Edgar E. the latter of whom now resides in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Murlin was born in Hardin Connty, Kentucky, re- motely of German ancestry; and when he was sixteen years of age his parents moved with him to Mercer County, Ohio, settling near Salina. February 10, 1850, he married and took his bride, in company with a num- ber of his young associates and their fam- ilies, and in three weeks arrived at Vinton, Iowa, their destination, which then contained but a dozen houses. To this place his uncle, James Thompson, had preceded him the year before; and his second-born, Eva, was the first white child born in Hampton, whither he had moved from Vinton. Mr. Murlin was successfully engaged in the grain busi- ness for many years, hauling his grain in wagons to the Mississippi River and unload- ing it into boats. September 10, 1862, he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-eighth Iowa Infantry, and during his service, which was under Grant, McClellan and Banks, he was promoted first to the rank of First Sergeant and afterward to that of Second Lieutenant. He was with Banks in the Red River ex- pedition. He was a valiant soldier, engaging in many hard-fought battles, and was honor- ably discharged at Savannah, Georgia, July 21, 1865. After returning he was ont one day with a hunting party and accidentally received a wound, from the effect of which he ultimately died, September 14, 1865, at Vin- ton. Matilda Thompson was born at Spring- field, Ohio, September 28, 1832, the ninth in a family of thirteen children of James and
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